seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
2 Kings 6:1 The company of the prophets said to Elisha, “Look, the place where we meet with you is too small for us. 2 Let us go to the Jordan, where each of us can get a pole; and let us build a place there for us to meet.”
And he said, “Go.”
3 Then one of them said, “Won’t you please come with your servants?”
“I will,” Elisha replied. 4 And he went with them.
They went to the Jordan and began to cut down trees. 5 As one of them was cutting down a tree, the iron axhead fell into the water. “Oh no, my lord!” he cried out. “It was borrowed!”
6 The man of God asked, “Where did it fall?” When he showed him the place, Elisha cut a stick and threw it there, and made the iron float. 7 “Lift it out,” he said. Then the man reached out his hand and took it.
8 Now the king of Aram was at war with Israel. After conferring with his officers, he said, “I will set up my camp in such and such a place.”
9 The man of God sent word to the king of Israel: “Beware of passing that place, because the Arameans are going down there.” 10 So the king of Israel checked on the place indicated by the man of God. Time and again Elisha warned the king, so that he was on his guard in such places.
11 This enraged the king of Aram. He summoned his officers and demanded of them, “Tell me! Which of us is on the side of the king of Israel?”
12 “None of us, my lord the king,” said one of his officers, “but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the very words you speak in your bedroom.”
13 “Go, find out where he is,” the king ordered, “so I can send men and capture him.” The report came back: “He is in Dothan.” 14 Then he sent horses and chariots and a strong force there. They went by night and surrounded the city.
15 When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” the servant asked.
16 “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
17 And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
18 As the enemy came down toward him, Elisha prayed to the Lord, “Strike this army with blindness.” So he struck them with blindness, as Elisha had asked.
19 Elisha told them, “This is not the road and this is not the city. Follow me, and I will lead you to the man you are looking for.” And he led them to Samaria.
20 After they entered the city, Elisha said, “Lord, open the eyes of these men so they can see.” Then the Lord opened their eyes and they looked, and there they were, inside Samaria.
21 When the king of Israel saw them, he asked Elisha, “Shall I kill them, my father? Shall I kill them?”
22 “Do not kill them,” he answered. “Would you kill those you have captured with your own sword or bow? Set food and water before them so that they may eat and drink and then go back to their master.” 23 So he prepared a great feast for them, and after they had finished eating and drinking, he sent them away, and they returned to their master. So the bands from Aram stopped raiding Israel’s territory.
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Here's the link to the commentary I read on these two stories.And the man of God sent to the king of Israel: Elisha did not support the corrupt monarchs of Israel, but he knew that it was even worse for Israel to be conquered and subjugated under Syria. Therefore, he gave the king of Israel information from divinely inspired espionage.
Will you not show me which of us is for the king of Israel: The king of Syria was naturally mystified by the way the king of Israel knew all of Syria’s plans beforehand. He was convinced there was a traitor among them until one servant revealed that Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, knew and revealed these things.
Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them: This seemed unbelievable to Elisha’s servant. He saw the horses, the chariots, and the great army surrounding them. He could not see anyone who was with Elisha and him.
And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha: When his eyes were opened, the servant saw the reality that he could not see before. He saw that there really were more with him and Elisha than those assembled against them.
Horses and chariots were the most sophisticated and mighty military instruments of the day. But the invisible army of God had literally more firepower than the horses and chariots of the Syrians. The spiritual army had chariots of fire all around Elisha.
Strike this people, I pray, with blindness: The Syrian soldiers could not see the spiritual army, so they did not hesitate to approach Elisha. But just as he previously prayed that God would give sight to his servant, he then asked God to strike this people… with blindness. God answered this prayer, just as He previously answered the prayer to give perception to the servant.
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I'll come back to the rest of the chapter tomorrow, God willing. It carries over to the next chapter.
The verses today are divided into two stories in my online Bible.
The first seven verses are about a miracle everyone could plainly see. While building a new meeting place for the prophets, an axe head fell into the water. The man who had been wielding the axe told everyone it had been borrowed, or gifted, to him. He was forlorn I would guess and Elisha used this opportunity to show the prophets what they had the power to do, with God on their side.
He threw a stick in the water, and the ax head floated to the top. Fancy that! Gravity lost its' hold on that piece of iron.
The rest of the verses here are about our blindness to reality.
The Syrian king decided he would "capture" the king of Judah. He set up plans to hide along the king's route and sieze the king of Judah. But Elisha knew every time the Syrian army moved and he was giving that information to the king of Judah.
During the night, one night, the Syrian army, complete with all its' horses and chariots, and the latest firepower, surrounded the town where Elisha was staying.
One of the servants started freaking out. Elisha told him not to worry. Elisha told him "There are more of us than there are of them."
The servant must have thought Elisha was completely insane. His own eyes showed him Elisha and company were severely outnumbered and outgunned!
Elisha asked God to "open the servant's eyes" and God agreed. When the servant opened his eyes, he saw the Syrian army, but he saw the Syrian army was completely surrounded by God's army in flaming chariots... not just plain old human chariots. My guess is... he was ok with the size of Elisha's army after he saw that!
Then there is the part of the chapter about the Syrian army. Well, they were too blind to see where they were or what they were about to do.
You just can't kill the Prophet of God. God made them very compliant. It says they were "blinded". They still had to walk, ride, and steer the chariots... so I don't know if their blindness was a massive lack of sight, or if it was more of a compliance kind of blindness.
At any rate, the Syrian army followed Elisha right into the capital city. They opened their eyes and they were in Samaria!!!! The king of Israel wanted to kill them all.
Elisha said "just feed them, they're hungry".
Look at the last part of the last verse of today's verses.
2 Kings 6: 23 So he prepared a great feast for them, and after they had finished eating and drinking, he sent them away, and they returned to their master. So the bands from Aram stopped raiding Israel’s territory.
In 2024 Israel invaded the buffer zone between Syria and the Golan Heights.
I keep thinking... There are different types of blindness.
- The axe head couldn't be seen because it was at the bottom of the water.
- The Army of God couldn't be seen because [IMHO] God doesn't want us to worry.
- The Syrian army couldn't see because they didn't know who [or what] they were looking for.
- The people today don't see that Israel is changing history again. [IMHO] The people today are blinded by "too much information".
It's about "being blind"!
